This report presents the results of a study of innovations in the organization and management of work activities. The research question addressed was whether and how administrative innovations contribute ... [more ▼]

This report presents the results of a study of innovations in the organization and management of work activities. The research question addressed was whether and how administrative innovations contribute to improving the performance of organizations, such as their efficiency and effectiveness and their ability to develop and deliver innovative products and services. More specifically, the study looked at the performance effects of innovations in the governance and management of information technology (IT) in the 50 American state governments. Governments everywhere are trying to improve efficiency and effectiveness, and IT is seen as a key factor in achieving that goal. But delivering IT projects and services in state government is an activity that has to be organized and managed efficiently and effectively in order for states to achieve the desired benefits of using IT. The study focused on how states currently govern IT, how and why they made changes in the way they govern IT, and the performance outcomes they achieved from changing their IT governance arrangements. Scientifically, the study aimed to test and extend current thinking about how, why, and how much administrative innovations, in general, and IT governance arrangements, in particular, can improve organizational performance. In order to make a strong test of current ideas, the study used different measurements and data collection procedures than prior studies and examined the research questions in the public sector context. By finding that some American state governments achieved IT-related performance improvements by changing their IT governance arrangements, this study increases confidence in the idea that administrative innovations are important to organizational success. The study also significantly extends current thinking about IT governance by sho wing that governance has two dimensions — 1) organizational structure and personnel management authority and 2) decision making influence — that can each affect organizational performance, but do not necessarily go together. This means that organizations may have more choices of how to design good IT governance than is typically thought. In addition to two familiar options (centralized and decentralized), the study explored the potential of two additional governance arrangements — 1) centralization-by-standardization and 2) decentralization-by-participation. Only the first of these additional alternatives (centralization-by-standardization) was observed in the 50 American states, raising the possibility that the second option (decentralization-by-participation) is an unexploited opportunity. Although future research will be necessary before confident recommendations for action can be made, the results of this research indicate that some states are already benefiting from adopting IT governance innovations, and that other states could possibly also do so. [less ▲]

IT organization design, consisting of IT governance (decision rights) and IT organization structure, is believed to affect organizational performance. This paper describes the IT organization design ... [more ▼]

IT organization design, consisting of IT governance (decision rights) and IT organization structure, is believed to affect organizational performance. This paper describes the IT organization design choices of the 50 U.S. state governments. Significant movement toward greater centralization was observed (particularly for IT services). States appeared to have adopted IT organization design innovations previously pioneered in the private sector, contrary to conventional wisdom founded on well-documented differences between the two sectors. Two commonly used explanations of IT organization design choices were examined for their ability to account for the unexpected findings — contingency and institutional theories. Both explanations were partially successful in explaining the results, but further theoretical development is needed to integrate those theories and more empirical research is needed to advance the field’s knowledge of IT organization design. [less ▲]

IT capabilities, including IT governance, are widely believed to affect the value organizations derive from IT. This paper focuses on what may be an important strategy for building enterprise-wide IT ... [more ▼]

IT capabilities, including IT governance, are widely believed to affect the value organizations derive from IT. This paper focuses on what may be an important strategy for building enterprise-wide IT capabilities in large decentralized organizations: undertaking an IT centralizing reorganization to concentrate authority for IT activities and decisions at the headquarters level of an enterprise. IT centralizing reorganizations are theorized to change an organization’s IT governance in ways that promote capability development and enable enterprise-wide IT initiatives such as IT consolidation and outsourcing. These ideas are explored through a multi-method study of US state governments. [less ▲]

A recurrent call for an increased use of information technology in the public administration has been made since the beginning of the “New Public Management” wave. It has been reinforced these last years ... [more ▼]

A recurrent call for an increased use of information technology in the public administration has been made since the beginning of the “New Public Management” wave. It has been reinforced these last years through the “digital-era governance” movement, emphasizing the important role that IT may have in the effective transformation of the public institutions and in the successful delivery of citizen-centered services. However, the success of e-government is proved not to be a direct effect of the increased use of IT, but to also depend on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. In this context, our paper proposes to offer an updated view of the way US State Governments manage, organize, and govern their IT activities. To do so, we consider the possible interactions between two dimensions: 1) the organization of IT activities and 2) the control over decisions about IT activities (also known as governance). This analysis is made for each of two categories of IT activities: 1) IT projects (such as Enterprise Architecture implementation, website development, etc.) and 2) IT services (such as the operation of networks, the daily support services, etc.). Our empirical data indeed show that neither dimension alone provides a good characterization of governmental IT management arrangements. The latter requires an in-depth understanding of how US States appear to combine a centralization and/or a decentralization design of the organization and of the control of their IT activities. The findings that we develop through this contribution have the potential to enhance the general understanding of the barriers to, and enablers of, e-government success, and to put into perspective some insights of the new public management and digital-era governance movements concerning the use of IT in the public sector. [less ▲]

The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the ... [more ▼]

The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the conceptualization of IT management arrangements by considering possible interactions between two dimensions — 1) the organization of IT activities and 2) the control over decisions about IT activities (also known as governance) — for each of two categories of IT activities — IT projects (such as website development) and IT services (such as the operation of networks). In addition, the paper provides preliminary empirical evidence obtained from applying this expanded conceptualization in the context of American state governments. Many states appear to employ centralization of IT activities to offset decentralization of IT control and vice versa. Consequently, neither dimension alone provides a good characterization of governmental IT management arrangements. These findings have the potential to enhance our understanding of the barriers to, and enablers of, e-government success. [less ▲]

This paper focuses on an apparent disconnect between the literatures on 1) the governance of IT decisions and the organization of IT activities inside organizations and 2) IT outsourcing decisions and IT ... [more ▼]

This paper focuses on an apparent disconnect between the literatures on 1) the governance of IT decisions and the organization of IT activities inside organizations and 2) IT outsourcing decisions and IT outsourcing governance arrangements between client organizations and IT service providers. We hypothesize that centralization of IT activities within organizations is a necessary precondition for outcomes such as IT consolidation (leading to large cost efficiencies) and outsourcing deals and possibly also for successful consolidation and outsourcing. We investigate this hypothesis through an exploratory, mixed-method investigation of changes in IT governance arrangements and outcomes in a single, well-defined population of organizations — the executive branches of US State governments. [less ▲]

The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the ... [more ▼]

The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the conceptualization of IT management arrangements by considering possible interactions between two dimensions—1) the organization of IT activities and 2) control over decisions about IT activities (also known as governance)—for each of two categories of IT activities—1) IT projects (such as website development) and 2) IT services (such as the operation of networks). In addition, the paper provides preliminary empirical evidence obtained from applying this expanded conceptualization in the context of American state governments. Many states appear to employ centralization of IT activities to offset decentralization of IT control and vice versa. Consequently, neither dimension alone provides a good characterization of governmental IT management arrangements. These findings have the potential to enhance our understanding of the barriers to, and enablers of, e-government success. [less ▲]

The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the ... [more ▼]

The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the conceptualization of IT management arrangements by considering possible interactions between two dimensions — 1) the organization of IT activities and 2) control over decisions about IT activities (also known as governance) — for each of two categories of IT activities — 1) IT projects (such as website development) and 2) IT services (such as the operation of networks). In addition, the paper provides preliminary empirical evidence obtained from applying this expanded conceptualization in the context of American state governments. Many states appear to employ centralization of IT activities to offset decentralization of IT control and vice versa. Consequently, neither dimension alone provides a good characterization of governmental IT management arrangements. These findings have the potential to enhance our understanding of the barriers to, and enablers of, e-government success. [less ▲]